Monthly Archives: August 2016

Purdue University’s College of Education was awarded $2 million in grant funding from the National Science Foundation for the project “Using Principles of Design to Advance Teacher Education.”

As part of the project, faculty from the colleges of Education, Engineering and Science will work directly with 240 undergraduate students studying elementary education over five years to broaden the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning landscape by integrating engineering design principles across five required undergraduate science courses. The intent is to establish a new generation of high-quality, exemplary elementary STEM educators while redesigning an existing elementary science teacher preparation model.

The NSF gave $1.5 million of the grant funds initially. The project will receive the remaining funding three years into the project. Professor Brenda Capobianco from the College of Education is the primary investigator on the grant.

Congratulations to ISI trainer and STEM education advocate Mrs. Kristen Poindexter, named by President Obama as a recipient of the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Mrs. Poindexter teaches Kindergarten at Spring Mill Elementary and will travel to the White House to be honored in September. https://recognition.paemst.org/

INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, August 16, 2016/National FFA Organization) | In today’s world, students are always looking for ways to get a jumpstart on the competition, and employers are looking for employees who are a cut above the rest. It’s for this reason that the National FFA Organization, Discovery Education and AgCareers.com have partnered to create AgExplorer.

AgExplorer.com is a new career exploration website that is a robust, comprehensive career resource to help students explore the broad range of careers in agriculture.

“We’re excited to introduce this transformational resource that will allow students to explore the 235 unique careers in agriculture,” said Joshua Bledsoe, chief operating officer of the National FFA Organization. “FFA is uniquely positioned to provide the foundation of the talent pipeline for the agricultural industry. In addition to engaging our students and supporting our teachers, AgExplorer.com will help us tell our story and the story of agriculture to the world. Together, we can all strengthen the future of agriculture.”

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is partnering with The Heritage Group on the new Heritage Group Center For Family Learning in STEM. Museum Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Patchen says the center will put visitors face-to-face with scientists “who are changing the world.” The museum says, as part of the partnership, the center will research and develop new science programs for teachers, school groups, children and families. The attraction is already working on new life sciences initiatives including the recently-premiered Beyond Spaceship Earth exhibit and a growing partnership with former NASA astronaut David Wolf and paleontologists Phil Manning and Victoria Egerton.

The Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC), South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science (SCCMS), and the South Carolina Afterschool Alliance (SCAA) are facilitating a new opportunity for networking, dialog and information to learners and leaders from across the nation. See the event announcement here.

During the three-day program participants attend pathways of concurrent sessions, each addressing a critical STEM education issue in-depth. This pathway approach reflects the idea that change affects the individual first, and that the individuals engaged in reform need to understand reform concepts from their level of expertise before they can effectively translate theory into practice. Participants choose one pathway to follow throughout their Next Steps experience. In addition to the pathway selected, participants will have three opportunities to leave their pathway learning and attend salon sessions.

Along with the Indiana Department of Education, Eli Lilly and Company, and the Lilly Endowment, we are working to reform K-8 science education in Indiana through the Indiana Science Initiative (ISI). ISI started with the creation of Indiana’s Strategic Plan for Science Education Reform in December 2008 by a committee of K-12 educators, scientists, government agents, higher education faculty and led by the National Science Resources Center (now known as the Smithsonian Science Education Center).